Assignment 1: Narrow Topic, Research Questions, Tentative Thesis, and Search Strategy
Set your paper up in MLA; double-space throughout. Write the topic, narrowed topic, and the more and most restricted topics. Next, write the arguable thesis. Then write the ten research questions. Finally, write a paragraph that discusses your search strategy and include the names of five (5) “specific print” sources (i.e. books, magazines, journals) as well as three (3) Internet sources you will use or have used to locate information. The title of the assignment is “Topic, Research Questions, and Tentative Thesis.” Follow the format below, but make sure that you insert your name and page number in the upper right corner.
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Your Name
Montgomery
Comp. II
25 October 2011
Research Questions and Tentative Thesis
Topic: Immigration
Narrowed Topic: Immigration of Hispanics
More Restricted Topic: Immigration of Hispanics and the Labor Force
Most Restricted: Need to Remove Immigration Restrictions
Thesis:
Despite the American public’s growing xenophobia and fear of overpopulation, immigration maintains a vital balance of societal and economical demands; therefore, the restrictions on immigration must be removed. Immigration should remain an available process for labor concerns, diversity related issues, and prospective international negotiations.
Research Questions:
1. Is the rising level of immigrants in the U.S. invading the job market?
2. What percent of the American population is from other countries?
3. What ethnic group has little difficulty entering the U.S.?
4. What ethnic group must wait an extended period to enter the country?
5. Should society feel endangered by jealousy arising from potential immigrants?
6. Could immigrants inflict terrorism on our citizens? Why?
7. Who develops educational programs for immigrants?
8. Should the U.S. take on the responsibility of taking care of immigrants?
9. Would discrimination towards immigrants provoke criminal behavior?
10. Is the term “melting pot” derogatory or complimentary?
Search Strategy: (make sure you double-space)
Since I have narrowed my topic, I will use the chaining method to find sources. I will consult the Internet to find bibliographies of books on my subject. Once I find titles of several books, I will visit our library to find at least five of the books that interest me. Some of the possible books are as follows: Immigration in America by Janice Liberowitz, America’s Growing Menace: Illegal Immigrants by Thomas Graydon, The Browning of America by Leonard Davis, Immigrant Terrorist in the Midst by Jackson McLeod, and Strangers in Our County by Dennis Fillmore. I will scan the table of contents to see if I can find topics that are similar to the questions that I have formulated, and I will check the documentation of the books to see if I may find other sources that may be useful. I am interested in finding some first person accounts of immigrants and their struggle to assimilate in American culture, so I will search for primary sources as well as secondary sources. Next, I will consult general reference works, The Readers Guide to Periodical Literature and Periodical Abstracts . From these, I will examine the International Political Science Abstracts. I will also search electronic databases that deal with social and economic issues found in PAIS International in Print such as Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science and International Studies Quarterly. I will document the important data to include on my working bibliography just in case I can use some of my preliminary sources. I will use electronic databases such as LexisNexis and GPO Access to search government reports and documents. Finally, I will use search engines to access FedStats: One Stop Shopping for Federal Statistics.